SAN FRANCISCO - FACEBOOK netted a US$6.5 billion (S$9.48 billion) valuation for its common shares on Monday, further underscoring the fast-growing Internet social networking site's high rank among technology and media industry heavyweights.

Russia's Digital Sky Technologies said it will pay US$14.77 a share for Facebook common stock, boosting its stake to as much as 3.5 per cent and valuing Facebook at about US$6.5 billion.

While that is below the US$10 billion valuation set by Digital Sky's May investment in Facebook, which was for preferred shares, investors have been valuing the social network's common stock at less than US$5 billion in secondary markets in recent weeks.

The deal suggests that Facebook has a higher market value than many established media and tech companies which generate significantly more revenue than Facebook, including CBS Corp and Salesforce.com , as at least one blog pointed out on Monday.

CBS, which had US$13.95 billion in revenue last year, has a market capitalization of US$4.06 billion and Salesforce.com had a US$4.72 billion market cap at Monday's market close.

Facebook is expected to breach US$500 million in sales this year, according to board member Mark Andreessen. The company has said it expects revenue to grow 70 per cent this year.

At US$6.5 billion, DST is valuing Facebook common shares at 13 times expected 2009 revenue, noted JMP Securities analyst Sameet Sinha, well above the 2.2x multiple that is common for online advertising-based businesses and even the nearly 6x multiple of Google Inc, the No.1 Internet search engine in the U.S.

But Mr Sinha said Facebook's lofty multiple was not completely out of line given the strong growth in sales and users that Facebook is generating amid a tough business environment.

'Those are the things that are really driving the valuation,' Sinha said. 'Essentially, people's expectations that this could be the next Google.'

Facebook recently surpassed 200 million active users on its social network, up from 100 million users less than a year earlier, and vaulting it ahead of rival social network MySpace which is owned by News Corp. -- REUTERS